An optical network uses optical signals to communicate information among the nodes of the network. This information often includes both data (e.g., a file that is being downloaded, packets carrying voices of a phone call, or the contents of a webpage) and signaling (e.g., commands or messages between nodes containing status or setup information). In some optical networks the data may be transferred using a data channel (e.g., a datalink) while the signaling is communicated using a control channel. The connections that carry both the data and the signaling may, at times, need to be modified. For example, a connection may need to be deleted. Currently, protocols, such as Resource Reservation Protocol-Traffic Engineering (RSVP-TE), do not clearly specify procedures for the rejection of a request to alter a connection. In certain situations this may lead to stranded resources and may prevent consistent end-to-end connections. Instead of dealing with the problem of not being able to reject the request, various standards bodies are attempting to address the side effects of the failure with complex protocol extensions. For example, protocol extensions to cleanup stranded resources where there is a loss of communications.